Archaeological applications of GIS: tools for extracting
spatial information from archaeological bone assemblages.
Professor Andy Dugmore, geography, School of GeoSciences
External advisor: Professor Tom McGovern, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, Hunter
College, City University of New York, USA
The overall aim of the project is to extract spatial information from collections of
animal bones recovered from archaeological sites and use this information to aid site
interpretation (such as possible spatial patterns of subsistence, economic activity,
trade and exchange networks) .
The focus would be Viking Age and medieval bone assemblages from Iceland, Faroes
or Greenland. The data is available in the form of excel spreadsheets showing the
identified bone fragments in each dated deposit; species are broadly separated into
domesticates (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, pigs, dogs) and wild species (birds- such as
puffin, ptarmigan, swan-marine mammals- such as species of seal and walrus- and
fish. There is data on the age of animals (as the presence of older sheep indicate wool
production), and the size/completeness of fish (larger fish missing heads and tails
indicate trade in stockfish, smaller complete fish indicate local consumption, for the
production of stock fish for trade). Data for many (>50 sites and contexts) exists as
excel spreadsheets. ). Ratios of cattle to sheep indicate different economic activities
(such as meat and milk production or wool production). In Iceland salt fish and
seabird eggs are found at inland sites. In Greenland caribou bones are found at the
coast and seal bones inland (and different species of seal are utilized, some migratory
others not).
Settlement Phase Domestic Mammals
Norw.
9th c Iceland
Chieftain
Faroe
Farm
10th c Iceland
Faroe
11th-12th c
Iceland
Faroe
11th - 12th c
Greenland
100%
60%
40%
Cattle
Horse
Dog
Pig
Caprine
GUS Ph1
W 48
E 17a
W 51
UJF upper
Svalbard
HST e 11th
SLH 11th-12th
SVK e 11th
UJF Mid
GST mid 10th
HST mid 10th
HRH mid 10th
SLH LW
SVK mid 10th
VGH 10th c
SVK l 9th
Herjolfsd.
Tjarnarg.
0%
UJF Lower
20%
Aaker
% Domestic Mammal (NISP)
80%
Settlement Phase Wild & Domestic
Iceland
Faroes
Norway
Faroes
Iceland
Faroes
Greenland
100%
% Archaeofauna (NISP)
80%
60%
40%
20%
Total Domestic
Birds
Cetacea
Seals
Caribou
Other Mammal
48
1
G
U 7a
S
Ph
1
E
51
Fish
W
W
M
id
e
HS 11
SL T e th
H
11 11th
th
-1
Sv 2th
al
ba
rd
UJ
F
up
pe
r
SV
K
UJ
F
Tj
ar
n
He arg
rjo .
SV lfs
K d.
L
9t
h
VG
H
10
S th
SV LH c
K
LW
HS mid
1
T
0
HR mid th
H 10
G mid th
ST
1
m 0th
id
10
th
Lo
we
r
UJ
F
Aa
ke
r
0%
Mollusca
Research Plan
For each identified group of animals a set of simple spatial rules would be developed
to define probable areas of origin and timing of movement (natural seasonal range
changes for wild animals, managed movements for domesticates).
A landscape would be created utilizing available DEM, and incorporating data on
climate and vegetation, present and probable past distributions of natural resources,
settlement location, probable land boundaries and routeways.
Spatial relationships of bone assemblages to landscapes would be modelled.
Sensitivity tests would be conducted to explore the effects of changes to rules and
assumptions.
Modelled landscapes could be assessed against modern Landsat data (indicating the
cumulative effects of land use) and the probable variations driven by climate.
Products
1. A tool to infer spatial patterns from animal assemblage data from Norse
archaeological sites in the North Atlantic islands
2. An assessment of the utility of the spatial data extracted from the animal
assemblage data.
- how discrete and diagnostic are the spatial patterns derived from separate
sites?
- how sensitive are the modelled spatial patterns to changes in the rules that
underpin them?
3. An understanding of how sensitive modelled patterns of animal origins and
activity areas are to climate change.
4. An evaluation of the extent to which modelled patterns of landscape utilization
cohere with current patterns of land cover and resource distribution (soil
cover, vegetation cover) derived from Landsat data.
Andy Dugmore, November 2008